Audio 3:51
Federal Government seizes on Obama's climate speech

Will OckendenUpdated
Wed 26 Jun 2013, 2:05 PM AEST

The US president Barack Obama has declared the climate change debate over and told what he called 'the flat earthers' to get out of the way. The Australian Government and the Greens have seized on the announcement to question the Federal Coalition Leader, Tony Abbott's commitment to action on climate change.

Transcript

ELEANOR HALL: The US president Barack Obama has declared the climate change debate over and told what he called "the flat Earthers" to get out of the way.

The president still doesn't have congressional backing for action on climate change but vowed to use his executive powers to cut carbon emissions and boost renewable energy investment in the United States.

The Australian Government and the Greens have seized on the announcement to question the Federal Coalition Leader Tony Abbott's commitment to action on climate change.

As Will Ockenden reports.

PROTESTER: Comprehensive climate plan.

GROUP OF PROTESTERS: Yes we can. Comprehensive climate plan. Yes we can.

WILL OCKENDEN: Climate campaigners were excited by president Obama's speech, describing it as an historic step in the fight against climate change.

On one of the hottest Washington DC days of the year so far, president Barack Obama made good on pledges from his second inaugural address.

BARACK OBAMA: As a president, as a father and as an American, I'm here to say we need to act.

WILL OCKENDEN: Barack Obama announced wide-ranging principles which include new standards on old and new power plants, and energy efficiency improvement regulations for appliances and federal buildings.

While the proposals contained little detail they fall into three parts - cutting carbon pollution, protecting against the effects of climate change and seeking more international action.

But president Obama's biggest move was to do it via his executive powers, bypassing a gridlocked Congress.

BARACK OBAMA: I don't have much patience for anyone who denies that this challenge is real. We don't have time for a meeting of the flat Earth society.

WILL OCKENDEN: That was seized upon by the Federal Government's Climate Change Minister Greg Combet in an interview with Sky News.

GREG COMBET: There's no time for a meeting of the flat Earth society. Now the local convener of that is Tony Abbott. And there is no time. I mean, the United States and China, the two biggest emitters in the world, respect the science. So does every other government. Tony Abbott stands alone against the science. You know, the ridiculous position for him to be in.

But because of political deadlock, it's unlikely the US will have a cap-and-trade or carbon price to help it get there.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt says the US is using direct action measures, similar to the Coalition's climate policy.

GREG HUNT: Where they are specifically focusing on energy efficiency, forestry and cleaning up power stations. Whereas Australia's emissions go up under a carbon tax, in the United States they go down without a carbon tax. And it's absolutely clear, absolutely clear that there is not going to be a carbon tax in the United States.

WILL OCKENDEN: Greg Combet says Barack Obama's preference is for a cap-and-trade system, but it's been frustrated by politics.

GREG COMBET: You've got China and the US and many other nations including Australia saying we've all committed to get an agreement concluded by 2015, just two years away. And president Obama's signalling clearly his intention to contribute constructively to that.

Now the proper comparison is all of that. The rest of the world, the US and China, our major trading partners, all across Europe, up against Tony Abbott who says the science is crap and has got some ridiculous policy position that's inefficient, won't guarantee emissions reduction at all.

WILL OCKENDEN: Leader of The Greens Christine Milne has also welcomed the comments from the US President.

She says it's a major speech, which will get climate change back on the global agenda.

CHRISTINE MILNE: Central to that is the keenness to do bilaterals with China and India and start working on free trade agreements for clean technology packages around the world, recognising the need to keep coal in the ground. He has said he won't have any time for flat Earthers which makes one wonder how much time Tony Abbott would spend with him in the event that he became prime minister.

ELEANOR HALL: That's the Leader of the Greens, Christine Milne, ending that report from Will Ockenden.